No Twitter for Hitler

Since Twitter is in the news again (See Tech-Media-Tainment post), I thought I'd post this YouTube video that shows Hitler getting mad because Twitter is down again.
It's a clip from the German film "Downfall" (2004) with new subtitles. This scene is one of the most remixed videos on YouTube. People have used this scene of actor Bruno Ganz portraying an angry outburst by the Nazi dictator for untold numbers of parody videos.
With new subtitles, Hitler gets mad at everything from Hillary Clinton's failed presidential bid to the defeat of HD DVD by Blu-ray Disc in the high-def format war. Other remixes have Hitler getting mad because he's banned from Xbox Live or Wikipedia.
Posted to YouTube: July 1, 2008.
Suggested rating: PG-13.

Julie the Operator Lady

Microsoft's recent advances in speech-recognition technology for automated call centers made me think of this classic "Saturday Night Live" sketch. Rachel Dratch is terrific as "Julie the Operator Lady."
Originally aired on April 8, 2006.
Suggested rating: G

Autoworkers Compete to Keep Jobs, Livelihoods on New Reality Show

Autoworkers Compete to Keep Jobs, Livelihoods on New Reality Show

An Onion News Network parody that was ripped from the headlines.
"On 'Auto Warriors' two Ford plants will battle it out, building to the LIVE season finale event: one plant will close, 3,000 will get the axe!"
In real life, Fox is planning a reality TV show about layoffs called "Someone's Got to Go." See post on Tech-Media-Tainment.
Posted April 27, 2009.
Suggested rating: PG.

Big Box and Maru

What is it about cats and boxes or bags? They just love to climb inside small spaces. Here's a funny video about a cat named Maru who investigates a big cardboard box.
The cat's owner has a lot of other similar videos and a Web page devoted to Maru here.
Posted to YouTube on April 24, 2009.
Suggested rating: G.

Carousel, directed by Adam Berg (Stink Digital)

This is an absolutely amazing piece of filmmaking. It's a short film about a moment frozen in time during a shootout at a hospital between cops and criminals dressed as clowns. It was created as part of a promotion for Philips Cinema 21:9 television with Ambilight technology.
I've embedded the YouTube version of the film, "Carousel," here. But for higher-resolution video and a better viewing experience (courtesy of Ambilight), go to the Philips Web site here. The version on the Philips site runs on a continuous loop.
Posted to YouTube on April 15, 2009.
Suggested rating: PG-13.

Study: Most Children Strongly Opposed to Children's Healthcare

Study: Most Children Strongly Opposed To Children’s Healthcare

More Pulitzer-worthy reporting from the team at the Onion News Network.
Posted June 17, 2008.
Suggested rating: G.

Emergency CatCast System

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Who doesn't love LOL Cats? OK, maybe dog lovers.
Video posted April 22, 2009.
Suggested rating: G.

Woomba

In honor of Roomba being selected for the Robot Hall of Fame today, here's a "Saturday Night Live" parody commercial for a sister product, Woomba.
Posted Aug. 5, 2008, to NBC.com.
Suggested rating: PG-13.

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas

A new Department of Labor report finds personal outsourcing is revolutionizing how Americans don’t do their own work.
Posted to the Onion News Network on April 20, 2009.
Suggested rating: PG

The Fast and the Bi-Curious

"Saturday Night Live" parody of the hit street-racing film "The Fast and the Furious" and its sequels.
Originally aired April 4, 2009.
Suggested rating: PG-13.

TV Host Fail

This TV show host had one take to get his introduction right and he blew it big time. This video is from one of my favorite new Web sites, Fail Blog.
Posted April 15, 2009.
Suggested rating: PG-13.



Plus, a bonus Fail Blog video from "Judge Judy."
Suggested rating: G.

We Didn't Start the Flame War

Watch We Didnt Start the Flame War on CollegeHumor

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery on the Internet.
Or it just shows that people are lazy thieves.
Anyway, I’ve seen a number of videos that use Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” tune to cram lots of information in a short time span. Joel’s often-maligned 1989 song was written as a rapid-fire history lesson.
The Wikipedia entry on the song lists a bunch of parodies and criticisms of it.
Above is a video by CollegeHumor.com that pokes fun at Web page comment sections and how they bring down the level of discourse.
Posted April 19, 2009.
Suggested rating: R.



Here's a video parody of the financial crisis called "Wall Street Meltdown (Redux)." It's actually a sequel to a video first posted in December 2007 called "Wall Street Meltdown."
Sequel posted to YouTube on Feb. 24, 2009.
Suggested rating: G.

That video was a takeoff of a video parody of the Silicon Valley venture capital industry called "Here Comes Another Bubble" (below).
Posted to YouTube on Dec. 16, 2007.
Suggested rating: G.

The Website Is Down: Sales Guy Vs. Web Dude

Another 2009 Webby Awards nominee. "The Website Is Down: Sales Guy Vs. Web Dude" is pretty techy and has some off-color humor. And, at 10 minutes and 23 seconds, it's a little long. But it's original and funny.
Check out the Web site here.
Suggested rating: R

Saturday Night Live: Surprise Party

SNL cast member Kristin Wiig can be either really annoying or freaking hilarious depending on the sketch she's in. Here is one of her best characters, Sue, a woman who gets overly excited about surprises.
Originally aired April 5, 2008.
Suggested rating: G



And here's a follow-up sketch featuring the same character.
Originally aired Oct. 18, 2008.
Suggested rating: G

"Prop 8 – The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly and Neil Patrick Harris

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... from Jack Black

Comedy Web site FunnyOrDie.com earned two Webby Award nominations today for its gay marriage video "Prop 8: The Musical."
The video makes light of a constitutional amendment passed by California voters in November that bans same-sex marriages.
Posted Dec. 2, 2008.
Suggested rating: PG-13.

"Sound of Music" train station dance

People love quirky videos featuring dancing.
The latest YouTube phenomenon sweeping the world is a video of almost 200 people taking over Antwerpen-Centraal railway station in Belgium and doing a carefully choreographed dance to the “Do Re Mi” song from “Sound of Music.”
It was done as a publicity stunt for a reality TV show.
To that, I say: Congratulations, mission accomplished.
Posted to YouTube on March 23, 2009.
Suggested rating: G.



Here’s a similar flash mob dance at Liverpool Street Station in London on Jan. 15, 2009, which was done as an advertisement for T-Mobile.



Those follow such past videos as the Filipino prison dancers, pop group OK Go on treadmills, and “Where the Hell is Matt?” videos (above and below).

Matt Harding filmed himself doing his silly dance in countries around the world and it became a viral smash hit. He posted it to YouTube on June 20, 2006.
He did a sequel in 2008 sponsored by Stride brand gum. It was posted to YouTube on June 20, 2008.
Suggested rating for both: G.



Downloadable high-definition versions of Matt's videos are available at Stride gum's Web site.

Schick Quattro for Women – "Bushes"

These ads for Schick Quattro for Women are a little racy. They show women trimming their bushes and mowing their lawns, literally and figuratively.
In the first ad, bushes are reshaped into small triangles and thin strips as women walk by them. Subtle. Given style trends today I'm surprised that some bushes weren't denuded as the ladies walked by.
Posted to YouTube on April 2, 2009.
Suggested rating: PG-13.

The second ad, called "Mow the Lawn," is a little more overt. Notice how the woman at the beginning of the ad is holding a hairy pussycat on her lap and at the end she's holding a hairless cat.
Posted to YouTube on April 3, 2009.
suggested rating: PG-13.

Schick is owned by Energizer Holdings.

What if roadies ran the world?

Hats off to Sprint Nextel for posting its commercials on YouTube. More advertisers should follow its example.
Here's a recent favorite of mine showing what an airline would look like if roadies ran it. Very funny.
Posted Oct. 1, 2008.
Suggested rating: G.
A follow-up commercial showing delivery workers running a school also is good.
Posted Jan. 12, 2009.
Suggested rating: G.

Attractive Girls Union Refuses To Enter Into Talks With Mike Greenman

Attractive Girls Union Refuses To Enter Into Talks With Mike Greenman

This video is classic Onion humor. They take a personal story that many people can relate to and blow it up into a major news story.
Posted to the Onion News Network on Nov. 17, 2008.
Suggested rating: PG-13

MadTV - Unused Law & Order Openings

MadTV did a series of comedy bits making fun of the opening segments of crime drama "Law & Order." Here's a YouTube compilation of five of them. The real winner is the last one, featuring Kate Walsh as the hostess of pirate-themed children's birthday party gone horribly wrong. (It starts at the 2:28 mark.)
This video was posted to YouTube in February 2009.
Suggested rating: PG-13

Britney Spears - "If U Seek Amy"

Oh, the mock outrage. Britney Spears' latest song is "F-U-C-K Me" ... oh, I'm sorry, "If U Seek Amy."
Spears is trying to stir up some publicity for her new track using sex. Problem is, that's all she's ever used to sell herself. Whether it's French-kissing Madonna, writhing with a python, prancing around like a Lolita in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform or flashing her va-jay-jay for the paparazzi, she's always courted controversy using sex. There's not much left that she can exploit. A donkey show perhaps?
Anyway, she decided that her fans were too dumb to figure out her word play, so she added an intro to her song that spells it out. It features a news anchor discussing the song. The on-screen text says "Britney Spears Song Lyrics Spell Out Obscenity In Disguise." The video's like a Where's Waldo puzzle for her younger fans. Have fun, kids!
After reading some of the comments on YouTube, it's clear not everyone gets it. At least one person thought the message was "F-U-C-K Amy."
On second thought, Spears was probably right to try to explain the obscene phrase.
Here's a link to the video on YouTube. (I couldn't embed it on One Stop Video because the copyright holders aren't permitting that.)
The song and the video actually are pretty good IMHO.
Posted to the BritneyTV channel on YouTube on March 12, 2009.
Suggested rating: PG-13

Saturday Night Live: Wii Guys

Nintendo's Wii video game console has been a phenomenal success. And it's become part of our pop culture as well. The game device, with its motion-sensing controllers, was mocked in this "Saturday Night Live" sketch with host Alec Baldwin. Warning: the humor is pretty adolescent.
I thought Baldwin's sketch for "First Coughs" was funnier, but Hulu didn't post that one. (In that sketch, Baldwin was selling a series of acting lessons on video. They included one on "first coughs," the movie cliche where a character's first cough signals their coming death.)
Originally aired Feb. 14, 2009.
Suggested rating: PG-13

Subliminal Messages in Disney Movies

Animators are known for sneaking inside jokes into their movies, things most people wouldn't notice because they're in the background or flash by quickly.
Here's a couple of videos that point out those little details. In Disney's case, the animators seem a little perverted. Check out that "Little Mermaid" wedding scene.
Posted to YouTube on Jan. 18, 2008.
Suggested rating: PG-13

I'm also posting a second video that shows how Pixar animators snuck in the robot character Wall-E into earlier movies, years before his own film came out.
Posted to YouTube on May 16, 2008.
Suggested rating: G

Political satire: 'The District' season finale

Newsweek's PopVox blog just finished the first season of its political satire series "The District." It portrays the Obama White House as if it were a cable reality TV show like MTV's "The Hills." Voice actor Iman Crosson does narration as President Barack Obama.
The season finale, episode 9, ran March 30, 2009.
Suggested rating: G.

For more episodes, check out "The District" Web site:
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/03/30/the-district-season-finale.aspx

Dunkin' Donuts Smoothie Commercial: Karate!

Another winning commercial from the archives.
It's a few years old. This uncut version was posted on YouTube in February 2008.
Suggested rating: G.

Star Trek as The Love Boat

YouTube users share a lot of mashups and remixes of their favorite TV shows and movies. One category of these are TV show opening credits where someone takes the theme song from one show and adds clips from another show.
Examples include “Star Trek” or "Star Wars" opening credits with the music and graphical style of “Dallas” or “The A-Team.” I personally like the mashup of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and "The Love Boat,” with guest stars like the Gorn and Charo.
Posted March 7, 2008.
Suggested rating: PG

Historic Blockbuster Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past

Historic ‘Blockbuster’ Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past

The Blockbuster Video Living Museum offers tourists a glimpse of how Americans rented movies in the days before Netflix and iTunes.

The Onion News Network skewered declining video rental chain Blockbuster in this May 12, 2008, report. Nearly a year later, it's more relevant than ever.
Suggested rating: G.